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This week has definitely been exciting in the hip hop community. Artists Kanye West and J. Cole both released their albums on Tuesday, June 18, beginning the battle of who the best really is. While other artists such as Kelly Rowland and Mac Miller have also released their albums, the real battle is between Kanye West’s “Yeezus” and J. Cole’s “Born Sinner.”

Some critics might argue that it is quality over quantity. With the large quantity of songs that J. Cole had on his album, it helped to improve the quality of his work, completing his story. It seems, however, that all Kanye needed was ten songs to overwhelm his listeners.

“Kanye is on a whole complete different musical level for it to be only ten tracks. He gave us from club hits to heartbreak songs, and kept it real. Kanye is pure musical genius. This is lyrically his best album,” said Maurice Letcher- Ellis.

J. Cole shares where he’s coming from through the art of storytelling. His music is more poetic and easy to vibe to. J. Cole raps from the heart, paints pictures with his rhymes, and sets the mood perfectly with his beats.

“J. Cole’s album appeals to the young adult in college. The mix of beats through the album is what keeps me hooked,” said college student Gregory Watts.

Unlike J. Cole, Kanye brags on himself, as he declares: “I’m aware I’m a king.” “Yeezus” is about Kanye’s greatness and knowledge that he’s at the top. He is very creative and his beats are dope, mixed with hip hop and tech. “Yeezus” also proves that Kanye is staying ahead of the game, as he boasts that he is the greatest. But hey, if he doesn’t believe it then no one else will. Maybe this is why he sells so many records!

“Kanye is an innovator and puts together different sounds that aren’t really in other hip hop songs,” said Raul Arzu.

Kanye is projected to sell between 360,000 and 380,000 records, while J. Cole is projected to sell between 270,000 and 290,000 records. Although J. Cole has stated that he is not trying to compete with Kanye, he definitely is. He has said that his decision to release his album on the same day as Kanye was to see if he was on the same level as Kanye. Although this sounds like competition to me, J. Cole feels that he is simply trying to make a statement. He states: “This is art, and I can’t compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he’s earned just from being a genius, but I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and you be the judge and you decide.”